Lightning lineup recharged for ’07

After a sterling senior class from a year ago graduated, Sage Hill School girls’ tennis coach A.G. Longoria could feel like he is starting over.

But he doesn’t.

The future looks bright for the Lightning, even after losing talented graduates like Sarah Geocaris, Stephanie Langer, Alle Hsu, Erica Spivack, Carissa Cummings and Salen Andrews. Included in that group are the top two singles players and four of the top doubles players from last year.

That senior class helped Sage make it to at least the CIF Southern Section Division V semifinals for three straight years, winning the championship in 2005. Last year, after being bumped up to Division IV, Sage Hill again advanced to the finals before losing a close match to Valencia High of Placentia.

Sage Hill was ranked No. 1 in its CIF division every week for all four of those years, a total of 48 weeks.

“That was probably a record that will never happen again,” said Longoria, the only coach in the program’s history. “That was incredible. It’s quite a legacy.”

But his thinking now is that Sage isn’t rebuilding, it’s reloading, even as two potential returners also won’t be back. Longoria said senior Ashley Adams, who played No. 3 singles last season, won’t be playing tennis so she can focus on school. Similarly, senior Brina Dokich, who played No. 3 doubles last season with Spivack, elected not to come back.

“Out of our nine starters, we have one person back,” Longoria said.

This year’s team does have three returning varsity players, including juniors Jaclyn Smrecek, Isa-Maria Taskinen and Allyson Smart.

Smrecek played the most prominent role on last year’s team, partnering with Hsu at No. 1 doubles. Longoria said they only lost three sets all year, two of those to powerhouse Corona del Mar High in a nonleague match.

Smrecek is likely to play No. 2 singles this season, while Taskinen could play at No. 3 singles.

“Jaclyn had a great summer,” Longoria said. “She’s been working with Syd Ball.”

Ball is a former Davis Cup team member for Australia and father of former CdM tennis standouts Cameron and Carsten, as well as eighth-grader Christian.

Stepping in at No. 1 singles for Sage Hill will be Julia Blakeley, a transfer from University High. Blakeley, a sophomore, is a national tournament player who is ranked No. 75 in the most recent United States Tennis Assn. girls’ 16s rankings for Southern California.

“She’s definitely an impact player,” Longoria said. “She’s the best male or female that Sage Hill has ever had in tennis. She should be able to defeat the top players in our league.”

Senior Danielle Goodman, who transferred from CdM a year ago but couldn’t play varsity for Sage last season per CIF rules, could play No. 1 or No. 2 doubles for the Lightning. Sophomore Dominique Moore and junior Laney Tucker, who both played on the Lightning JV team last season, could also start in either singles or doubles.

“They’ve been playing great on JV,” Longoria said. “They would have been playing varsity on some other teams.”

The other senior on the team is Kelley Chang, who also played JV last season.

“She could really help us,” Longoria said. “She has been part of three winning seasons on JV.”

Other players who will likely play doubles for the Lightning include juniors Nandi Shah and Sarah Choi, and sophomores Chelsea Donenfeld, Leah Sams, Niki Cochran and Samantha Murray. Donenfeld is a transfer from Laguna Beach High.

Longoria said freshmen Abigail Wesley and Olivia Simon may or may not make varsity but are names to look for in the upcoming years.

As for the Academy League, Longoria said he thinks two-time defending champion Sage Hill is still the team to beat. And he expects his team to still be ranked in the top five in Division IV.

Longoria said he will need a couple more weeks to fully determine his lineup. Sage begins its traditionally strong nonleague schedule with a scrimmage at Santa Margarita on Sept. 4, followed by a home match against Calvary Chapel on Sept. 7 at Balboa Bay Club Racquet Club.